Lichinodium canadense

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Lichinodium canadense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Leotiomycetes
Order: Lichinodiales
Family: Lichinodiaceae
Genus: Lichinodium
Species:
L. canadense
Binomial name
Lichinodium canadense
Henssen (1968)

Lichinodium canadense is a species of minute fruticose (bushy) cyanolichen in the family Lichinodiaceae. It is found in British Columbia, Canada, where it grows on conifer bark.

Taxonomy[edit]

Lichinodium canadense was formally described as a new species in 1968 by Norwegian lichenologist Aino Henssen. The type specimen was collected in the Fraser River basin along Highway 1; here, in a mixed forest along a riverbank, the lichen was found growing on the bark of western redcedar (Thuja plicata), along with a then-undescribed species of Parmeliella. The specific epithet canadense refers to the country in which it was first found.[1] The species has also been recorded from the Incomappleux River valley in southeastern British Columbia.[2]

Description[edit]

Lichinodium canadense has a brownish to blackish coloured, gelatinous thallus that occurs as single rosettes with a diameter of 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in). The individual lobes comprising the thallus are 0.4–0.8 mm long and 0.04–0.06 mm thick; they are translucent when they are moist. The phycobiont partner is a species of Scytonema, a filamentous cyanobacteria. No apothecia have been recorded, so the lichen is only known to exist in the sterile state.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Henssen, Aino (1968). "A new Lichinodium species from British Columbia". The Bryologist. 71 (3): 271–274. doi:10.2307/3240695.
  2. ^ Spribille, Toby (18 November 2002). Oceanic Macrolichens in the Incomappleux River Valley, southeastern British Columbia. Report to Valhalla Wilderness Society (PDF) (Report).